Need a new fridge/freezer - any brands to stay clear of?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Need a new fridge/freezer - any brands to stay clear of?

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#2866674 11-Feb-2022 21:36

Benoire:

I've been looking at F&P, Bosch, Haier etc. but wanted to get a guage on what brands where good and not so good etc. The space is 940 wide, 1900 high but the depth isn't quite there, really ~710 is the max to avoid it obstructing the walking route between the cupboards and a wall.

I wouldn’t eliminate any brands if I had very specific needs. I’d consider any product that had the features I needed. Then, when I had a good list of possible products, I’d consider the trade-offs for reliability, price and running costs. For example, I wouldn’t generally buy a Haier fridge-freezer but we had very specific requirements which meant only one model could work for the disabled user.

Re Bellings or any other brand/model not stocked, we found that sales staff in most stores would offer to order in almost anything we wanted provided there was an importer for them.

shrub

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#2866690 11-Feb-2022 21:55

I see alot of people bagging on Samsung mines 4 years old send no issues.

They are all made in China. Personally I'd just go with best price and warranty.

phrozenpenguin

841 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2866700 11-Feb-2022 22:30

Similar to the last poster, I have a Samsung bought new 5 years ago and we haven't had any issues. We are considering buying another Samsung for a different space because the features and sizing work at a much cheaper price than F&P.

kotuku4

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#2866759 12-Feb-2022 09:16

/>They are all made in China. Personally I'd just go with best price and warranty.

I had a bosch washer that was made in Thailand, fell apart. The Beko stuff made in Turkey.

SCUBADOO

192 posts

Master Geek

#2866770 12-Feb-2022 09:43

Likewise our Samsung 255l Digital Inverter fridge/freezer has survived 8 years of full-time travel rattling and shaking in our motorhome at a quarter of the price of dedicated 12 volt models.
Samsung will almost certainly be the replacement make of choice when it eventually fails.

qwertee

709 posts

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#2866788 12-Feb-2022 10:32

Hi Op

We have a 3 year old F&P RF442B fridge that replaced an older Mitsubishi. We kind of liked the model, size and layout internally.
I found the sounds it was making loud and annoying from day one and got F&P to check it out.

First guy said it was normal as it was the sound of the refrigerant moving about.
Wasnt satisfied with this answer as I went and had a listen to the same model that was running at Noel L. Much quieter than ours!
Asked F&P to send another tech.

Second tech said he agreed it was loud but nothing abnormal and said they will take it away after arranging a loan fridge.
It was returned back later and they had re-gassed it and find it running much quieter so pretty pleased with it so far.

Our other appliances like the oven and dishwasher are F&P that came with the house. No issues so far.
I know some have had issues with F&P appliances but I seem to pretty happy with this brand.

jm3

86 posts

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#2866794 12-Feb-2022 10:43

We've had Samsung fridge/freezer with digital inverter for about 7yrs. It was the only one we could find with a decent bottom freezer compartment. It has three draws which we find efficient for stacking. The fridge section has less options than we'd like for shelf rearrangement but that's our only complaint.

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Technofreak

6530 posts

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#2867072 12-Feb-2022 15:06

F & P fridge freezer, upright freezer, dish drawers, cook top, and oven. Pretty happy with all of them.

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scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#2867074 12-Feb-2022 15:07

In the market also. Honestly F&P keep coming out on top for superior interior design and options, and they don't need such a large gap on the sides as others (Samsung's cooling panels are on the side of the models we looked at and so need huge air gaps). Mitsubishi interiors seem to be very small compared to the cabinet size.

Also dont be tricked by the volume measurements, companies have different ways of calculating these, some are actual usable space, some not.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

cshwone

1070 posts

Uber Geek

#2867080 12-Feb-2022 15:25

rogercruse:

Kookoo:...Our Westinghouse has been humming along pretty reliably for a few years now...

We like our Westinghouse fridge / freezer. Mostly because you can access ice-cubes directly from inside the freezer.... makes putting ice in a glass is so much easier!

Another +1 for Westinghouse. Bought from LV Martin, it's about 12 ish years old now. Survived a couple of house moves and just trucks along.

SCUBADOO

192 posts

Master Geek

#2867131 12-Feb-2022 16:14

scuwp: ...(Samsung's cooling panels are on the side of the models we looked at and so need huge air gaps).

Perhaps in theory only? Our 255l Samsung fridge/freezer has a recommended 50mm minimum side gaps. Well I could not achieve that in our motorhome and had to settle with perhaps 2mm on the left side and 10mm on the right.
It still performs perfectly 8 years later and consumes under the rated 269kWh/year.
The freezer is currently at -18°C and the fridge 1.5°C.

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#2867246 12-Feb-2022 20:24

SCUBADOO:
scuwp: ...(Samsung's cooling panels are on the side of the models we looked at and so need huge air gaps).

Perhaps in theory only? Our 255l Samsung fridge/freezer has a recommended 50mm minimum side gaps. Well I could not achieve that in our motorhome and had to settle with perhaps 2mm on the left side and 10mm on the right.
It still performs perfectly 8 years later and consumes under the rated 269kWh/year.
The freezer is currently at -18°C and the fridge 1.5°C.

Just repeating what the salespeople have told me. There is a Samsung model that would fit our space nicely with about 10mm gap either side. They say that's not enough and we shouldnt expect them to honour the warranty if any issues. They pretty much were refusing to sell it to us.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

antonknee

1133 posts

Uber Geek

#2869563 16-Feb-2022 12:13

Most of my appliances are F&P and have no issues. I have a Samsung fridge which replaced a 20 year old F&P. I do think runs slightly too cold, and I do find the interior is not very adjustable compared to others, but aside from that no issues with it.

From my time at a major appliance retailer, stay away from Beko, Midea, Eurotech/Tuscany/Trieste, Parmco and other second tier brands. They are second tier for a reason.

F&P, Westinghouse, Samsung, Haier, LG all had similar levels of reliability. We did find the customer service from LG the worst of the bunch when there were problems. Samsung were better but not by much, and the other brands all pretty similar.

ShinyChrome

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#2869633 16-Feb-2022 13:52

We've historically had the classic F&P over-and-under, which are built like tanks and run forever... the only reason we replaced it as we needed more freezer space. We bought it S/H in 2015 and it is still running in our garage as a second fridge to this day.

We have had our current LG fridge since Jan 2021 and had no complaints really, but then again, we haven't had to deal with LG though... it got a pretty mid-range recommendation from Consumer at the time, but our criteria were a little niche though: we wanted the biggest side-by-side, dumb fridge in our budget.

In my eyes, an ice-maker takes up valuable freezer space, and while a plumbed in water/ice dispenser would be nice, it's just a thing that will break/need regular maintenance in an otherwise robust appliance. French doors would have been nice for the wider fridge space, but there weren't many designs that I found that didn't use a drawer style freezer or otherwise compromise on freezer space. It really is nice to be able to open either door and get an immediate inventory of everything.

colinbowern

30 posts

Geek

#2896979 4-Apr-2022 22:49

I'm looking casually at the moment at the quad doors. Currently leaning towards the FP RF605QNU in Stainless once it pops up on sale. What's on my mind is:

* Is ice in the freezer or fridge door better? I suspect freezer, but no evidence

* Is variable compartment going to work well in the long run? I hope so, I like the idea of a drinks compartment.

* Will the shelves fit our stuff or have an awkward bit? Will drop in store to visually check out.

* Will the shelves and drawers be durable for the long run? Will drop in store to visually check out.

Ideally I'd prefer a fridge that can vent out the front, so it can back closer to the wall, but those are only available in the high end $10k+ models from Sub Zero and co. I'd also like a stainless interior for more efficient cooling, but those come in the $6k+ range for the back panel being stainless. I'd love to have no water as I read a lot of them don't have large water reservoirs to keep cool and we already have a filtered water tap.

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